Chapter 141: The Threat of Tuberculosis

"Let's go, brothers!"

After resting for almost two cigarettes in this dark space, Lynn rose to his feet, leaning on his rifle. Though he couldn't see the expressions of the soldiers at this moment, he could sense the resolute determination behind their heavy hearts.

As the end of the empire approached, countless soldiers continued to fight tirelessly for shattered dreams, their unwavering will fueled by faith, now integrated into their blood and souls... Walking back through the sewer via the same stairs as before, Lynn paused to orient himself, choosing the direction westward, back towards the city center. With just these eight soldiers, successfully escorting the captured Soviet colonel back to friendly territory would be a significant achievement. However, the sewer was now filled with the chaotic sounds of gunfire, explosions, and shouts echoing from near and far. In the relatively enclosed space, these noises were distorted and muffled, some sounding like firecrackers in a tin can, while others resembled roars from hell, sending shivers down one's spine.

Moving forward a few steps, Lynn turned back and asked, "Is everyone following?"

"I'm watching over the Russian with Gordon!" answered Bruck.

"I'm supporting Caruno with Karl, don't worry, we can keep up!" came Tanze's voice.

"I'm here!" Noah responded heavily. He was now responsible for the anti-tank rocket launcher and the two remaining rockets.

The last voice to be heard was Bruehl's: "I'm covering the rear!"

With everyone in place, Lynn had a sense of their numbers and continued forward. The tense atmosphere made it difficult to maintain composure, gripping the rifle stock with his left hand and keeping his index finger close to the trigger with his right. At each junction, he carefully examined the area with an infrared flashlight, fearing that even a minor oversight could lead to the annihilation of his night raid unit.

After walking forward for some distance, Lynn felt they were nearing the spot where they encountered the National Assault Corps soldier earlier. Reluctant to risk shouting out and potentially triggering the nervous soldier to open fire blindly, Lynn slowed his pace, paying extra attention to the surroundings. The air in the sewer was still foul-smelling, but now Lynn detected a scent of burning unrelated to the filth, reminiscent of a battlefield after artillery bombardment. Suddenly, a cough sounded very close, almost causing everyone to halt in their tracks.

Cough... Cough... Cough... It didn't sound like the mechanical "qq" sound of a classic online message, but rather like the weak and painful coughing of someone seriously ill, so intense it seemed they might cough up their heart and lungs.

Lynn activated the infrared flashlight, but the scope revealed no figures—this primitive infrared detection method couldn't penetrate thick walls to observe ordinary heat sources hidden behind them. In other words, as long as the target was concealed in a nearby sewer branch or pipe, Lynn couldn't observe them.

Unable to communicate through words or actions, Lynn judged that Wolfram was still closely following behind based on intuition. Approaching a junction ahead, Lynn shifted slightly to the left, then crouched down cautiously. In the pitch-black environment, Wolfram was likely acting solely on instinct. As Wolfram's leg brushed against Lynn's shoulder, he stopped, crouched down, and leaned forward, bringing his ear close to Lynn— who whispered in a voice barely louder than a mosquito's flight, "There's a junction ahead, one to the left and one to the right. Each of you has a grenade. Throw on my command."

Wolfram already had two grenades in hand. As a seasoned veteran, he had no trouble tossing out two grenades in quick succession within three or four seconds. When Lynn heard the "clank" of the grenades landing, he didn't duck but instead crouched like a sick cat in the corner of the curved sewer pipe, pressing his head down and forward against the pipe's wall. If someone were to look from the front, they would see that Lynn's M42 steel helmet was providing significant cover for a large portion of his body. At the same time, he held his assault rifle, ready to raise it with a simple movement of his body, prepared to fire.